Room for All

by Allen Dvorak
via Biblical Insights, Vol. 15, No. 1, January 2015

"Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: 2 "I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name" (Isaiah 45:1-3; ESV).

The book of Isaiah has many astounding prophecies like the one above. Isaiah lived in the eighth century B.C.E. and yet he was able, moved by the Holy Spirit, to call the specific name of the man, yet unborn, who would be responsible for the downfall of the Babylonian empire! To fully appreciate the amazing nature of his prophecy, one must remember that the Assyrians were still the dominant power in the Mediterranean world at the time of the prophecy; Isaiah predicted the end of the Babylonian empire (which followed the Assyrian empire) before it had even begun!

A prophetic theme in the latter portion of Isaiah is expanding God's people to include individuals from other nations. In his second "servant song," Isaiah prophesied that the Lord's Servant, the Messiah, would "bring Jacob back to him" and also be "a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth'' (Isaiah 49.6-7). As with the prophecy regarding Cyrus, Isaiah often spoke as though he was looking to the time after the Babylonian exile - before it even began! Later in Isaiah 49, Zion is pictured as a woman who believes herself to be forsaken by the Lord,  bereft of her children. The prophet predicted that the land would not be large enough to accommodate all the children she would have in the future (Isaiah 49:19-21). Zion would ask, "From where have these come?" and the response was that God would cause her sons and daughters to be brought back from the nations (probably at the very least a prediction of the return from Babylonian exile), but the number of her children would be augmented by the inclusion of the Gentiles ( cf. Isaiah 49:6), surely a reference to the universal invitation of the gospel.

Under the Law of Moses, some individuals were excluded from the assembly of Israel. Eunuchs, for example, were forbidden to enter the assembly of the Lord. Those of illegitimate birth could not enter the assembly, nor their descendants "even to the tenth generation'' (Deuteronomy 23:1-2; NKJV). Some of other nations were excluded for several generations; some were forever excluded (Deuteronomy 23:3-7).

Isaiah prophesied that there would come a time when no such exclusions would remain.

"Thus says the Lord: 'Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come, and my righteousness be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.'  Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, 'The Lord will surely separate me from his people'; and let not the eunuch say, 'Behold, I am a dry tree'" (Isaiah 56:1-3; ESV).

There would be conditions for their inclusion among God's people, but acceptance was possible (Isaiah 56:2, 4, 6). The eunuch who was unable to have sons and daughters ( a "dry tree") would still be given a memorial within the "house" of God and would not "be cut off." The foreigner would not be separated from the Lord's people; his sacrifices would be accepted on the altar of the Lord. Although these prophecies may have seen their fulfillment partly in the period after the exile and before the church, ultimately, they were fulfilled by including the Gentiles in the church.

In light of Isaiah's prophecies about foreigners and eunuchs, it is interesting that Luke specifically recorded Philip's preaching to the Samaritans and the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8). The Samaritans were generally regarded as "outcasts" and shunned by the Jews. Yet Philip and the apostles preached the gospel to them, and many obeyed it (Acts 8:5, 25).

The Ethiopian eunuch had been to Jerusalem to worship and was returning to his homeland when the Spirit directed Philip to join him in his chariot (8:27-29). It is quite likely that this man was a literal eunuch and thus would not have been permitted to go beyond the court of the Gentiles in the Jerusalem temple (cf. Acts 21:28). Philip preached to him about Jesus, and the eunuch was baptized. He went on his way rejoicing, having received "an everlasting name that shall not be cut off" (Isaiah 56:5).

Acts 8 seems to be about the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. Praise the God who has made genealogy and physical condition of no consequence for salvation (cf. Romans 2:25-29), extending His grace to all who will love Him and be His servants!